Hotels & Lodging: Ace Hotel in Portland

After a recent stay at the Ace Hotel, in Portland, Oregon, I am ready to abandon midcentury Scandinavian design and redo my house in grunge modern (the original Ace is in Seattle; new branches have opened in New York and Palms Springs). The proprietors have rehabbed an old SRO hotel (Drugstore Cowboy was filmed here) in haute Northwest bohemian style: Fixtures and furniture are either repurposed, commissioned from local sources (Pendleton blankets), or of modest provenance—hardware store clip-on reading lights, for instance. Room rates start at $90 (with a shared bathroom). In the morning, Neil Young or The Smiths emanate from the turntable, and the adjacent Stumptown Coffee Roaster cafe serves high-octane lattes.

Above: In the lobby, a giant low-slung table is fashioned from a warehouse door, the slouchy sofas are covered in surplus army canvas, and tangled flora emanate from glass vessels.

Above: The mezzanine Biz Center features a library of zines and skateboarding mags.